[Music] georgia georgia the whole day through just an old sweet song keeps georgia on my mind [Music] many of us have heard robert frost's famous quote good fences make good neighbors but sometimes offense may not offer enough protection from what or who lurks on the other side has anyone on the other side of the fence ever been arrested for a violent crime or suffered undiagnosed mental illness these are not the questions we ask about our neighbors in suburban america unless one day unexpectedly on the evening news we hear a story about a horrific series of events in our quiet picturesque town then we have questions then we wonder what causes seemingly ordinary people to lash out violently is it because of a failure of the criminal justice system or ineffective crime prevention strategies or is it due to mental health concerns we ask who is at fault and what can we learn from this tragic set of circumstances but occasionally even after many facts have been provided the story remains perplexing and unfathomable today's story takes us to acworth georgia an upscale suburb of atlanta with an estimated population of close to 23 000 according to the most recent census data among many other things acworth is known for its excellent schools intriguing war history and proximity to lake alatoona and lake akworth its neighbor the city of kennesaw famously requires the head of every household to own a gun however this is not a requirement in acworth although at one time you did have to own a rake in the summer of 2019 23 year old philip brent and his fiancee 23 year old eliza wells moved into a red brick home on verbena drive in acworth owned by brent's grandfather all was going well until in december the couple received a strange item in the mail it was a folded piece of computer paper when they opened it there was an explicit adult image with an incoherent message brent just tossed it away thinking it was probably a kid's prank then in may 2020 after a third such prank in which he received a graphic picture of a woman in a tiara along with a toy tiara he felt compelled to contact the police officers told him there was not much they could do and suggested the couple install security cameras for safety purposes two months later in july 2020 brent found himself scrolling through hours of surveillance footage after he saw an apple juice bottle with a cigarette in it against his garage door it was apparent that someone had been on this property and he wanted to know who it was while reviewing the video brent saw footage of his neighbor austin lance putting an item into his mailbox late at night and placing the apple juice bottle against his garage door he was not surprised as he had long suspected austin brent stated we had to drive by his house often every time we passed by he was outside smoking a cigarette or would be standing there would give us the most creepiest unsettling looks and wave at us armed with footage they once again notified the police police spoke with austin's parents who said they were disturbed and would ensure that austin gets to therapy they agreed to arrange a brief meeting with their neighbors for an apology the police wanted austin to apologize and asked him if he had ever met miss wells austin said he had not police then asked well why would you have any reason to start doing these things austin replied well i mean i can see her through her bathroom window after closing their bathroom blinds brent and wells visited the cobb county magistrate court the following week to seek a restraining order however they were denied one as a court official said there was an insufficient pattern of behavior to warrant one eventually wells and brent ended their relationship and wells moved out of the home in october 2020. if you're thinking this must be when the harassment ends well you'd be wrong after wells's departure brent remained in the home but said he continued to receive strange items including explicit images then on april 18th 2021 brent received an alert on his phone around midnight that someone was at his house he pulled up a camera feed on his phone to see austin holding a large sign and taping it to his front door when brent checked the door he found the large sign had been duct taped on one side it read i'm done wondering for real on the other side it said what is the point of that brent called the police who issued austin a trespass warning and threatened to arrest him if it occurred again finally brent decided to leave the house for good and made arrangements to stay with his sister in the meantime he had had enough of austin lance but austin lance had some unfinished business [Music] on april 24th at 4 am approximately one week after austin's trespass warning brent received another alert from his alarm company that there was an intruder inside his home he pulled up camera footage from his phone and observed austin searching inside his house for 13 minutes austin turned all the lights on and methodically searched from room to room for something or someone he had a crowbar in his hand which he used to enter the door police stated his use of the crowbar to gain entry suggested that he planned on having a further need for the object when police responded that night they encountered lands outside his home smoking a cigarette in the rain lance was arrested on burglary and trespassing charges he told police he was worried his phone was being tracked and he talked of airplanes flying over the neighborhood he was transported to cobb county jail and was in the process of being booked when he suddenly and without provocation attacked two sheriff's deputies one deputy sustained a dislocated thumb and the other suffered a torn acl and a bone chip according to the warrant it took multiple deputies to restrain him as the deputies worked to control him he called them gay for not fighting him individually as a result of his assault six additional charges were tacked on including two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer bail was set at forty five thousand dollars represented by attorney lisa wells lance's case was transferred to superior court before he was formally indicted on charges related to april 24th two charges namely rioting in a penal institution and making a terroristic threat were dismissed because of insufficient probable cause brent said lance's lawyer was seeking a bond modification permitting him to relocate to the washington dc area to help with his father's business sure enough on may 12th lance's bond was reduced to 30 000 by cobb county magistrate judge michael mclaughlin conditions included a mandatory mental health and substance abuse evaluation within 30 days of his release judge mclaughlin also ordered lance to seek employment and avoid possessing guns brent and wells who observed lanza's bond hearing were disappointed by the judge's decision they claimed that judge mclaughlin told attorneys since lance did not yet have a criminal record he didn't feel lance should be held in custody despite the judge's order granting a bail reduction it was not until july 18th that lance was released from jail the next day a separate judge granted a bond modification that allowed lans to move out of state to virginia where lance plan to work for his father at that point the clock started to tick on his 30-day window to undergo a court-ordered mental health evaluation twenty-seven-year-old austin lands was born and raised in georgia he lived in a large white house in an affluent neighborhood that shared a backyard with the brent and wells home the son of a construction executive and one of two siblings austin mostly worked for his father but also held other jobs in 2012 after high school austin enlisted in the u.s marine corps however according to the corps he was administratively separated less than a month later and never earned the title marine he moved back in with his parents following his separation from the military almost 10 years later it would be an encounter with a more esteemed soldier to whom he would forever be linked thirty-seven-year-old pentagon police officer george gonzalez was born in chicago and raised in brooklyn new york he graduated from new york city's canarsie high school and enlisted in the u.s army upon graduation gonzalez was a decorated war veteran who served in iraq earning the army commendation medal which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service in july of 2018 he relocated to virginia to join the pentagon force protection agency where he rose through the ranks and was promoted to a senior officer in 2020 officer gonzalez was a proud new york yankees and knicks fan and frequently posted on facebook regarding his team's ups and downs he was described by friends and associates as a smiling humble man who wanted nothing more than to protect and serve his country outside the pentagon an officer fatally stabbed a suspect shot to death at the scene the heart of america's defense community shaken flags now flying at half staff this morning at about 10 37 a.m a pentagon police officer was attacked on the metro bus platform law enforcement officials tell cbs news suspect austin lance of georgia stabbed the officer there was a struggle for the officer's gun and other law enforcement opened fire we have one suspect down one officer down pentagon metro the pentagon force protection agency confirmed the victim is one of their own defense secretary lloyd austin wrote tonight quote this fallen officer died in the line of duty helping protect the tens of thousands of people who work in and who visit the pentagon on a daily basis it's still unclear what caused the fight and the violent mourning that ensued we have enough officers here to protect the medic but officials stressed there's no one else who took part in the attack and the grounds of the pentagon are safe the scene is secure and most importantly there's no continuing threat to our community at 10 30 a.m on tuesday august 3rd 2021 austin lance boarded a bus headed to washington dc upon arrival at the pentagon transit center he exited the bus and immediately ambushed stabbed and killed the first pentagon police officer he came across that officer was george gonzalez on patrol at a metro station just steps away from the pentagon according to the fbi a struggle occurred in which lands acquired gonzalez's service weapon and ultimately turned it on himself following the stabbing a lockdown at the pentagon was established lasting for two hours gonzalez was transported to george washington university hospital where he passed from his wounds as officers gathered outside to honor and salute him the associated press reported that investigators were looking into lance's background and any history of mental illness to determine any reason he might want to target the pentagon or police officers lance's parents released a statement through their council claiming that lance had many mental health problems over the last few months of his life including hospital stays and numerous professional mental health evaluations despite this he never received an official diagnosis according to newsweek neighbors reported to multiple news outlets that austin lands had a troubled past and had previously attempted to harass stalk and break into several homes throughout the area finally however with the passing of austin lands an anguished community could begin to recover from this terrifying chapter of harassment and violence but the peace enjoyed soon after would prove to be short-lived on august 31st 2021 philip brent sold the family home on verbena drive to 31 year old firefighter justin hicks and his wife amber the couple moved into their new house with their two-year-old son in september it is unclear whether the hicks were aware of their neighbor's past history but the hicks shared a backyard fence with the lance family just like the couple before them although austin was no longer around 22 year old sibling matthew lance had recently returned home to live with his parents matthew lance is the younger brother of alleged murderer austin lands although matthew and austin were raised together matthew took a different path than austin whereas austin enlisted in the military right after high school matthew enrolled at the university of georgia he attended kennesaw mountain high school was an ap scholar and played lacrosse for four years he had expressed an interest in children's dentistry and did a five-month part-time internship in a dental office in 2018. at the university of georgia matthew studied cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics his social media page indicates he attended college from 2018 to 2022 but did not state whether he completed his studies there matthew like his brother seemed to have grown up in a loving home with every conceivable resource and opportunity he appeared to have a bright future which makes the events you are about to hear even more astounding on thursday november 18 2021 family members showed up at the hicks home on verbena drive in acworth around 9 30 a.m with police for a welfare check they had just learned that hicks's two-year-old didn't make it to daycare that day and they could not reach justin or amber after no response at the door police gained entry and discovered justin and his wife amber dead from multiple gunshot wounds it was later revealed they were murdered the day before as for the two-year-old he was found in the home safe and unharmed he had been alone for at least 12 hours the boy was placed with family members and is now doing well on friday november 19th police in sandy springs georgia a town roughly 30 minutes from the hicks murder site were in the process of responding to a burglary call when a separate 9-1-1 call was made reporting an active home invasion nearby the frightened homeowners stated the suspect was still in the house lingering on an upstairs floor police were rerouted and quickly arrived at the home on cameron glenn drive hey sir hey so is there someone actively in your house right now where is he at hey puppy you you know this guy not at all okay okay has he got any weapons or anything like that hey it's the police department come on down what's your name hello your house is next door it's not this one it is it's next door man this is the residence of what's that no man not if you come out right now and talk to us no we're not going to twist anything like that you know yeah you got close but not not close enough you know well stay right there so we can come get you or else come downstairs yeah yeah just walk down to this middle landing okay what's your name what what'd you say your name was matthew hey matthew come on down to the steps okay are these the only steps up hey come on down man come on down during the struggle the suspect pulled out a long knife and stabbed one officer six times one stab wound was directly in the back of his neck and it barely missed the brain stem at the base of his skull he also sustained wounds to the side of his neck within millimeters of the jugular vein the wounded officer was transported to grady memorial hospital and was released one day later according to a police report police used tasers pepper balls and two live bullets to finally corral the suspect the suspect was also taken to grady memorial hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds it was there that he was identified his name was matthew lands on release he was arrested and taken to fulton county jail the next day the sandy springs police department working alongside the cop county police department announced their investigation found that matthew lands was responsible for murdering the hicks in their home in acworth georgia on wednesday evening for the cobb county crimes matthew lance was charged with two counts of felony murder two counts of aggravated assault one count of home invasion and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony additionally matthew received a multi-count indictment on friday february 18 2022 he is currently being held in custody without bond at the fulton county jail pending trial to this day motives remain unclear for the crimes committed by the lands brothers while community members in georgia wait for justice to be delivered by the court system they remain shocked confused and saddened by the bizarre and terrifying chain of events what would cause two young men seemingly capable full of potential and afforded every resource and advantage to lash out so violently who is to blame some believe the lance brothers crimes can be chalked up to mental health issues upbringing the actions of violence prone individuals or some combination of each while the lance brothers case may be intertwined with mental illness can mental illness really be the sole cause here although austin lance according to family members may have had mental health challenges that does not necessarily justify his actions or take away from the impact and suffering his actions caused the victims and their families and what of matthew lands was he afflicted with mental health issues too unfortunately there's not much information available about matthew in that sense but the national health alliance states that some mental health problems tend to run in families so if someone in the family has a disorder there's a greater chance that another family member will develop it too despite this most speculation about matthew's motives suggests that his intention was to avenge his brother's death and complete his brother's work by killing the neighbors at verbena drive lastly the city of akworth georgia has seen adversity before in fact the town was once entirely burned to the ground by federal troops during the civil war it rebounded over time to become an affluent suburb there is no question the people of akworth will once again rise up and recover to the extent that is possible considering the tragedy currently akworth remains a great place to live and raise a family the city is still a friendly charming and peaceful community in 2022 safewise.com named akworth the 19th safest city in georgia out of 537 cities so i leave you with this final thought it is not good fences but good neighbors that make good neighborhoods so let us be kind to our neighbors [Music] you